Updatable city map with directory list

Question

Here's the scenario. A city has a business district that needs a printable aerial view map (llustrated) with numbers indicating each business. These numbers will correspond to a key/directory that will list the number and name of business. The map is updated frequently as businesses come and go. I want the map to renumber itself when making edits. For example, if the business marked as "4." needs to be deleted from the map, the rest of the indicators would renumber themselves and the directory would then renumber itself as well (so that the list doesn't have a missing number). Is this feesible within InDesign?

Answer 1

You can do it easily
1) add the map to the page (THE LABELS MUST NOT BE PART OF THE MAP)
2) create a map label paragraph style "Map Labels" and include in it a numbered list "Map Lables List"
3) Setup an object style call it Map Labels set the paragraph style to Map Labels,
Set the fill, corner etc. options as desired.
4) Make a text Frame and Put in it the name of the place and apply the Map Labels object style to it.
5) Use copy and Paste to add a label for all the places you need.
5B) Important! and a bit tough do the copy and paste in the Ideal Order of the list
In the example below Europe was coppied last, so it go numbered 3, a more desired order (left to right, top to bottom) might have been USA, Europe, Africa
6) set up a new object style and set the colors to None call it Invisible
7) After you have finished labeling all the place names select all the page items (Ctrl / Comand A) and run this little snippet
var selection = app.selection,
      l = selection.length;
while (l--) if (selection[l].hasOwnProperty ('contents')   && selection[l].appliedObjectStyle = "Map Labels") {
    selection[l].name = selection[l].contents;
    selection[l].insertLabel("Map Labels", "1");
app.activeWindow.activePage.insertLabel("Map", "1"); // Label Page for future reference
You now have named all your textFrames and they can be refered to asfor example myDoc.textFrames.itemByName("USA")
And you can identify them as map lables by using textFrame[x].extractLabel("Map Labels") == 1;
8) Save a copy of the doc in case you mess up in the future.
9) Make a character style "Place names" and apply in your document  only on the names you want labeled on your map.
i.e. you have have a some text(s) somewhere in the document
The USA is realy ......
Africa is ......
10 Now each time you have different references run the following script and the map labels will be updated
// Labeling script
// by Trevor (www.creative-scripts.com coming soonish custom and readymade scripts for adobe indesign and other products)
app.doScript("labelMap()", ScriptLanguage.javascript, undefined, UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT, "Lable Map");
function labelMap() {
    var doc = app.activeDocument;
                app.findTextPreferences = app.changeTextPreferences = null;
                app.findTextPreferences.appliedCharacterStyle = "Place Names";
    var myPageId = checkForObjectByLabel(doc.pages, "Map");
    if (myPageId === false) {alert("No Map\rBye"); exit();};
    myPageId = myPageId[0];
    var mapPage = doc.pages.itemByID(myPageId),
          mapLabels = checkForObjectByLabel (mapPage.textFrames, "Map Labels"),
          l = mapLabels.length, label, lableFrame;
    while  (l--) {
        lableFrame = mapPage.textFrames.itemByID(mapLabels[l]);
        if (!lableFrame.isValid) continue;
        lableFrame.applyObjectStyle (doc.objectStyles.itemByName("Invisible"), true);
        lableFrame.contents = "";
    // Find names
    var myFinds = doc.findText();
    l = myFinds.length;
    while (l--) {
        label = myFinds[l].contents;
        lableFrame = mapPage.textFrames.itemByName(label);
        if (!lableFrame.isValid) continue;
        lableFrame.contents = label;
        lableFrame.applyObjectStyle (doc.objectStyles.itemByName("Map Labels"), true);
function checkForObjectByLabel (obj, label, from, to) {
    from = from || 0;
    if (obj .hasOwnProperty('length')) obj = obj[0];
    var parent = obj.parent;
    var co = obj.constructor.name;
    co = co[0].toLowerCase() + co.substr (1, co.length) + "s";   
    var objects = (from != undefined && to != undefined) ? parent[co].itemByRange (from, to) : parent[co].everyItem();
    var objectsLabels = objects.extractLabel(label);
    var reg = /1/g;
    objectsLabels = ("," + objectsLabels.join()).replace (/,1/g, "1");
    reg.lastIndex = 0;
    var n = 0;
    var ids = [];
    var found = true;
    while (found = reg.exec (objectsLabels)) ids[n++] = parent[co] [(reg.lastIndex = found.index + 1) - 1 + from].id;
    return (ids.length > 0) && ids;